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We launched Startup School as an online program in 2017 to support founders actively working on building their companies. On November 9th, we’re also opening Startup School to potential founders who are interested in starting a company in the future. MORE
Repeat founders who have a proven track record, good references, and in the best cases, an exit to point to will have an easy time making inroads with venture capitalists. Last week, TMV co-founder Soraya Darabi joined the Extra Crunch Live stage to discuss her firm and investment theory. “We MORE
Just the immediate priorities seem to take up more than one person’s potential working hours—so it’s no surprise that when it comes to something like social media, many founders have trouble making it a priority. The consequences of failing to position a founder’s profile aren’t always obvious—and it’s usually all about missed opportunities. Some founders get more press, get speaking opportunities or have an easier time fundraising thanks to leads that started with social media. MORE
A recurring theme: Serial founders. Muforo points out that aside from startups building fintech infrastructure, the caliber of founders was another reason pre-seed funding peaked last year. Also, Etop Ikpe, the co-founder and CEO of Autochek Africa, was CEO of DealDey and Cars45. MORE
All Founders International Programs accelerator program founders international founders startup foundersThe following post is written by Nato Chakvetadze, Program Associate for 500Georgia. Gavin: Here everything is so expensive. Look at the numbers. If we move to Georgia, we can save a fortune and get a further investment. It's the only way. Denpok: Well, I have heard good things about the food scene in the Dirty South. Hoover: Stankonia. Freaknik. MORE
From a young age, Will Bruey, the co-founder and chief executive of Varda Space Industries , was fascinated with space and running his own business. Like other Founders Fund companies, Palantir and Anduril, Varda takes its name from the novels of J.R.R. MORE
The post Look Outside of Silicon Valley to See How Founders Can Be Successful Post-Covid-19 appeared first on 500 Startups. Founders International Covid-19 entrepreneurs global ecosystems innovation500 Startups kicked off a new series called Innovation Coffee Breaks. Experts from leading companies, venture capital firms and startups join us every week to discuss how to innovate during this time of uncertainty. MORE
James Sutcliffe is the founder and CEO of The Founding Network , a collaboration platform for high-growth founders. If I were to pick one thing that unites the global tech scene in terms of culture I would point to the respect and reverence accorded to startup founders. MORE
The post From Our Founder: Creating Opportunity During Times of Crisis appeared first on StartupNation. As entrepreneurs and business owners, we do our best to plan for the future. MORE
Yesterday, I met with a founder with an interesting model who was raising $400k to bring the finishing touches to her product to make it customer-ready. In fact, the only founder I've ever seen completely run the table for a multi-million dollar seed round based off of a Powerpoint is Chantel Waterbury of chloe + isabel. This blog post is not about debating if "enough" diverse founders get funding--whatever that might mean. MORE
LeafLink is today announcing it raised a $40 million Series C financing round, led by Founders Fund with participation from Thrive Capital, Nosara Capital and Lerer Hippeau. This financing round is Founder Fund’s largest technology investment in the cannabis space. MORE
Over the past few months, the GAN Community came together to support startup founders who have been deeply impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Startup life is hard enough; now, the pandemic has left many founders in an impossible position. MORE
We believe that technology startups should include a technical founder because it is critical that a CTO have a seat at the table where key decisions regarding the future of the startup are made. Female Founders YC News Feature MORE
Ai-Ling Wong—founder at The Decorateur. Alex Louey—founder and managing director at Appscore . Andrea Grisdale—founder and CEO at IC Bellagio. David Fastuca—founder at Ambisie and founder at Locomote. Demi Markogiannaki—founder at WeTeachMe. MORE
When GAN Ventures considers whether to invest in a startup, we look for four primary things: Authentic founders: Founders that know their own strengths and weaknesses and aren’t afraid to ask for help. Passionate founders: Founders that joyfully know more about their market than most people would think is normal to know about anything. Authentic founders communicate what’s going on with themselves. MORE
In this program, founders are connected to the CIOs of the top banks, brokerages, and insurance companies in NYC as they work on their products and pitches. And then there is the newest one, the Transit Tech Accelerator , where founders who are building transit companies are connected to the leading transit systems in the NY Metro area while they work on their products and pitches. NYC’s Partnership runs some outstanding accelerator programs. MORE
Doing so means getting a lot of things right, and one of the most critical is that founders receive the correct support while they’re in-program. While accelerators tend to do a great job of asking founders questions that help to ensure startups are the right fit for their programs, I don’t think that founders always do the same. Building a community of other founders they can work alongside, who really get what it’s like. MORE
No one likes dilution, and that’s why every founder is looking for alternatives to traditional equity investing by venture capitalists. MORE
Jason sat down with Steve Barsh , Managing Partner of Dreamit, to give founders relevant downturn strategies. Jason answers critical questions for founders, including: How can your company ensure survival? How to survive now so you can thrive later When Jason speaks with founders, he looks for specific qualities that indicate they have what it takes to survive. Your primary job as a founder is to save the business. MORE
Last week I spotted this annotated twitter thread from Fred Destin , which he kicked off with a simple question : As founders-turned-VCs, Aviel and I have always relied on the “golden rule” principle — treating founders the way we wish we had been treated when we were in their shoes — when deciding how to build our own firm here at Founders’ Co-op. Ideas that start out bad often get better over time as founders learn and adapt. MORE
Here’s the thing, though: We know that an uneven amount of dollars go to founders in major tech hubs—the Londons and San Franciscos of the world. And, three years into running our fund at GAN Ventures, with over 25 investments (almost exclusively in founders operating in cities like the ones I just mentioned), we’ve seen investment markups on a full third of our portfolio. Most founders in smaller cities are already leaders in their communities. (It’s MORE
While I got some very kind words on my recent writings , I heard from some founders that didn't feel like they got treated fairly—specifically around feeling patronized or dismissed—and that I wasn't showing enough action to improve on that. It’s easy in my position to forget how much courage it takes to pitch something for any founder—but especially founders for whom stepping out and taking this kind of risk feels like it comes with a bigger downside. MORE
Data from a variety of sources collated by TechCrunch shows that early-stage female founders have been disproportionately hurt by the pandemic’s impact. MORE
I’m excited to announce the Founder Support Fund. It’s an evergreen microgrant-making fund dedicated to supporting founders’ mental and emotional health and well-being. And many startup founders have been particularly affected by the stress and unknowns of this time. . 94% of founders have experienced severe anxiety, depression, or other mental health challenges. “No Now, let’s support the people behind those businesses— founders. MORE
In this Dreamit Dose, associates Alana Hill and I, Elliot Levy , offer five things we wish founders knew after screening over 1,000 startups in the last year. That’s something I didn’t realize when I was a founder sitting on the other side of the table. MORE
VC has been invested over the past decade according to race, gender and educational background makes for grim reading — with all-ethnic teams and female entrepreneurs receiving just a fraction of available funding versus all-white teams and male founders. MORE
In almost every single investment I’ve ever made, I can think of a singular moment in my relationship with a founder that, no matter what came before or what might come after, defined our relationship. Often times, it came in a very vulnerable and down moment for the founder—perhaps they just lost out on a big opportunity, had someone from the team leave, or they’re running low on capital before sales have come around. MORE
As I said in this post , I am generally a “one share one vote proponent”, but I have supported founder control provisions in a few companies where I was or am on the board. The founder had a 10:1 supervoting provision and controlled a majority of the board seats. But I can only imagine that WeWork was running out of cash and needed funds from its existing investors and the founder had to cede all of that to keep the company afloat. MORE
Venture firms wanted to meet talented Black founders but didn’t know where to start to find them. “I gotta say it was a good day.” I’m so fricking pumped today. Really, truly. Yeah, Valence announced > $5 million in funding led by GGV and Upfront. That IS a big deal, but I’ll get to that. MORE
Studies show that diversity is key to sparking innovation and developing holistic solutions in early-stage ventures, The post expanding equity in STEM innovation: showcasing female founders of color appeared first on VentureWell. Innovation and entrepreneurship are fundamental drivers of economic growth. MORE
500 actively invested in founders who were diverse or were building for diverse customers; we shunned manels by making sure to feature female speakers at our events, so that it wasn’t predominantly men doing the talking. The post Why Investing in Female Founders Matters Now More Than Ever appeared first on 500 Startups. Announcements Diversity Founders Venture Capital Investing covid19 diversity female founders Inclusion MORE
If founder salaries are supposed to be no more than some set number, how does that work if a founder is a single mom with three kids and a mortgage. For example, if Katrina Lake, the founder of Stitch Fix, went off to start a new company, pretty much any investor would give her a blank check to do it. On the other hand, do you think that same number is the primary motivating factor for the black female founder, weather she, too, went to Harvard and can code or not. MORE
Last week The Exchange dug into recent data concerning the amount of venture capital raised by female founders. In Q3 2020, PitchBook data reported that US-based female founders raised $434 million across 136 rounds. MORE
On November 18, we are hosting our first Future Founders Conference for women who aspire to become a startup founder. Speakers include: Jessica Livingston, Co-founder of Y Combinator. Jess Lee, Founder of Polyvore , Partner at Sequoia Capital. MORE
We recently invested in a team of co-founders who had voluntarily made their own vesting longer than four years. Their answer: “These days, with companies taking seven to 10 years to reach exit, it would make sense for founders to be on a similar schedule.” Jake Jolis. MORE
tapped the equity crowdfunding market, a noodle or two on the a16z media game, Talkspace’s SPAC, VC and founder predictions for 2021, and where’s the right place to found a company. s co-founder and CEO Ben Goldhaber about his company’s performance to date. MORE
It’s not about being rich, it’s about repeatedly building value What some people think will happen when you become a founder | source I love the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Let’s tastefully call this phenomenon: Rich Founder, Poor Founder. Most founders end up owning 5%-20%. MORE
I've heard a lot of VCs tell founders they need co-founders--and that they wouldn't look at a business at a very early stage without a co-founder. A lot of accelerators treat solo founders the same way--making it an implied requirement to participate. I don't think you can get into YC with this kind of "Godfather"-type co-founder as your partner if they're not going to be there day in and day out. but you do need a team. MORE
founder Related Topics Dream It
JANUARY 13, 2021
In this Dreamit Dose, associates Alana Hill and I, Elliot Levy , offer five things we wish founders knew after screening over 1,000 startups in the last year. That’s something I didn’t realize when I was a founder sitting on the other side of the table.
GAN
MAY 6, 2020
I’m excited to announce the Founder Support Fund. It’s an evergreen microgrant-making fund dedicated to supporting founders’ mental and emotional health and well-being. And many startup founders have been particularly affected by the stress and unknowns of this time. . 94% of founders have experienced severe anxiety, depression, or other mental health challenges. “No Now, let’s support the people behind those businesses— founders.
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GAN
JULY 29, 2020
Over the past few months, the GAN Community came together to support startup founders who have been deeply impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Startup life is hard enough; now, the pandemic has left many founders in an impossible position.
500
APRIL 28, 2020
500 actively invested in founders who were diverse or were building for diverse customers; we shunned manels by making sure to feature female speakers at our events, so that it wasn’t predominantly men doing the talking. The post Why Investing in Female Founders Matters Now More Than Ever appeared first on 500 Startups. Announcements Diversity Founders Venture Capital Investing covid19 diversity female founders Inclusion
A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC
SEPTEMBER 26, 2019
As I said in this post , I am generally a “one share one vote proponent”, but I have supported founder control provisions in a few companies where I was or am on the board. The founder had a 10:1 supervoting provision and controlled a majority of the board seats. But I can only imagine that WeWork was running out of cash and needed funds from its existing investors and the founder had to cede all of that to keep the company afloat.
This is going to be BIG.
OCTOBER 22, 2018
In almost every single investment I’ve ever made, I can think of a singular moment in my relationship with a founder that, no matter what came before or what might come after, defined our relationship. Often times, it came in a very vulnerable and down moment for the founder—perhaps they just lost out on a big opportunity, had someone from the team leave, or they’re running low on capital before sales have come around.
TechCrunch
NOVEMBER 2, 2020
VC has been invested over the past decade according to race, gender and educational background makes for grim reading — with all-ethnic teams and female entrepreneurs receiving just a fraction of available funding versus all-white teams and male founders.
GAN
OCTOBER 9, 2019
Here’s the thing, though: We know that an uneven amount of dollars go to founders in major tech hubs—the Londons and San Franciscos of the world. And, three years into running our fund at GAN Ventures, with over 25 investments (almost exclusively in founders operating in cities like the ones I just mentioned), we’ve seen investment markups on a full third of our portfolio. Most founders in smaller cities are already leaders in their communities. (It’s
Entrepreneurs' Organization
AUGUST 27, 2020
Ai-Ling Wong—founder at The Decorateur. Alex Louey—founder and managing director at Appscore . Andrea Grisdale—founder and CEO at IC Bellagio. David Fastuca—founder at Ambisie and founder at Locomote. Demi Markogiannaki—founder at WeTeachMe.
Y Combinator
OCTOBER 28, 2020
We launched Startup School as an online program in 2017 to support founders actively working on building their companies. On November 9th, we’re also opening Startup School to potential founders who are interested in starting a company in the future.
TechCrunch
JANUARY 23, 2021
tapped the equity crowdfunding market, a noodle or two on the a16z media game, Talkspace’s SPAC, VC and founder predictions for 2021, and where’s the right place to found a company. s co-founder and CEO Ben Goldhaber about his company’s performance to date.
GAN
MAY 22, 2019
When GAN Ventures considers whether to invest in a startup, we look for four primary things: Authentic founders: Founders that know their own strengths and weaknesses and aren’t afraid to ask for help. Passionate founders: Founders that joyfully know more about their market than most people would think is normal to know about anything. Authentic founders communicate what’s going on with themselves.
This is going to be BIG.
JUNE 9, 2020
While I got some very kind words on my recent writings , I heard from some founders that didn't feel like they got treated fairly—specifically around feeling patronized or dismissed—and that I wasn't showing enough action to improve on that. It’s easy in my position to forget how much courage it takes to pitch something for any founder—but especially founders for whom stepping out and taking this kind of risk feels like it comes with a bigger downside.
TechCrunch
OCTOBER 12, 2020
We recently invested in a team of co-founders who had voluntarily made their own vesting longer than four years. Their answer: “These days, with companies taking seven to 10 years to reach exit, it would make sense for founders to be on a similar schedule.” Jake Jolis.
Entrepreneur's Handbook
NOVEMBER 17, 2020
It’s not about being rich, it’s about repeatedly building value What some people think will happen when you become a founder | source I love the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Let’s tastefully call this phenomenon: Rich Founder, Poor Founder. Most founders end up owning 5%-20%.
Y Combinator
NOVEMBER 19, 2020
We believe that technology startups should include a technical founder because it is critical that a CTO have a seat at the table where key decisions regarding the future of the startup are made. Female Founders YC News Feature
A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC
NOVEMBER 4, 2019
In this program, founders are connected to the CIOs of the top banks, brokerages, and insurance companies in NYC as they work on their products and pitches. And then there is the newest one, the Transit Tech Accelerator , where founders who are building transit companies are connected to the leading transit systems in the NY Metro area while they work on their products and pitches. NYC’s Partnership runs some outstanding accelerator programs.
Y Combinator
OCTOBER 15, 2020
On November 18, we are hosting our first Future Founders Conference for women who aspire to become a startup founder. Speakers include: Jessica Livingston, Co-founder of Y Combinator. Jess Lee, Founder of Polyvore , Partner at Sequoia Capital.
TechCrunch
OCTOBER 16, 2020
Last week The Exchange dug into recent data concerning the amount of venture capital raised by female founders. In Q3 2020, PitchBook data reported that US-based female founders raised $434 million across 136 rounds.
TechCrunch
DECEMBER 8, 2020
From a young age, Will Bruey, the co-founder and chief executive of Varda Space Industries , was fascinated with space and running his own business. Like other Founders Fund companies, Palantir and Anduril, Varda takes its name from the novels of J.R.R.
TechCrunch
DECEMBER 1, 2020
James Sutcliffe is the founder and CEO of The Founding Network , a collaboration platform for high-growth founders. If I were to pick one thing that unites the global tech scene in terms of culture I would point to the respect and reverence accorded to startup founders.
This is going to be BIG.
JULY 8, 2019
Just the immediate priorities seem to take up more than one person’s potential working hours—so it’s no surprise that when it comes to something like social media, many founders have trouble making it a priority. The consequences of failing to position a founder’s profile aren’t always obvious—and it’s usually all about missed opportunities. Some founders get more press, get speaking opportunities or have an easier time fundraising thanks to leads that started with social media.
TechCrunch
DECEMBER 10, 2020
LeafLink is today announcing it raised a $40 million Series C financing round, led by Founders Fund with participation from Thrive Capital, Nosara Capital and Lerer Hippeau. This financing round is Founder Fund’s largest technology investment in the cannabis space.
This is going to be BIG.
FEBRUARY 24, 2020
If founder salaries are supposed to be no more than some set number, how does that work if a founder is a single mom with three kids and a mortgage. For example, if Katrina Lake, the founder of Stitch Fix, went off to start a new company, pretty much any investor would give her a blank check to do it. On the other hand, do you think that same number is the primary motivating factor for the black female founder, weather she, too, went to Harvard and can code or not.
500
MAY 8, 2020
The post Look Outside of Silicon Valley to See How Founders Can Be Successful Post-Covid-19 appeared first on 500 Startups. Founders International Covid-19 entrepreneurs global ecosystems innovation500 Startups kicked off a new series called Innovation Coffee Breaks. Experts from leading companies, venture capital firms and startups join us every week to discuss how to innovate during this time of uncertainty.
StartupNation
NOVEMBER 20, 2020
The post From Our Founder: Creating Opportunity During Times of Crisis appeared first on StartupNation. As entrepreneurs and business owners, we do our best to plan for the future.
TechCrunch
JANUARY 22, 2021
A recurring theme: Serial founders. Muforo points out that aside from startups building fintech infrastructure, the caliber of founders was another reason pre-seed funding peaked last year. Also, Etop Ikpe, the co-founder and CEO of Autochek Africa, was CEO of DealDey and Cars45.
TechCrunch
JANUARY 12, 2021
No one likes dilution, and that’s why every founder is looking for alternatives to traditional equity investing by venture capitalists.
TechCrunch
NOVEMBER 17, 2020
Repeat founders who have a proven track record, good references, and in the best cases, an exit to point to will have an easy time making inroads with venture capitalists. Last week, TMV co-founder Soraya Darabi joined the Extra Crunch Live stage to discuss her firm and investment theory. “We
Dream It
APRIL 8, 2020
Jason sat down with Steve Barsh , Managing Partner of Dreamit, to give founders relevant downturn strategies. Jason answers critical questions for founders, including: How can your company ensure survival? How to survive now so you can thrive later When Jason speaks with founders, he looks for specific qualities that indicate they have what it takes to survive. Your primary job as a founder is to save the business.
Founders Coop
MAY 18, 2020
Last week I spotted this annotated twitter thread from Fred Destin , which he kicked off with a simple question : As founders-turned-VCs, Aviel and I have always relied on the “golden rule” principle — treating founders the way we wish we had been treated when we were in their shoes — when deciding how to build our own firm here at Founders’ Co-op. Ideas that start out bad often get better over time as founders learn and adapt.
500
MAY 22, 2020
All Founders International Programs accelerator program founders international founders startup foundersThe following post is written by Nato Chakvetadze, Program Associate for 500Georgia. Gavin: Here everything is so expensive. Look at the numbers. If we move to Georgia, we can save a fortune and get a further investment. It's the only way. Denpok: Well, I have heard good things about the food scene in the Dirty South. Hoover: Stankonia. Freaknik.
This is going to be BIG.
NOVEMBER 1, 2016
Yesterday, I met with a founder with an interesting model who was raising $400k to bring the finishing touches to her product to make it customer-ready. In fact, the only founder I've ever seen completely run the table for a multi-million dollar seed round based off of a Powerpoint is Chantel Waterbury of chloe + isabel. This blog post is not about debating if "enough" diverse founders get funding--whatever that might mean.
This is going to be BIG.
JUNE 5, 2016
I've heard a lot of VCs tell founders they need co-founders--and that they wouldn't look at a business at a very early stage without a co-founder. A lot of accelerators treat solo founders the same way--making it an implied requirement to participate. I don't think you can get into YC with this kind of "Godfather"-type co-founder as your partner if they're not going to be there day in and day out. but you do need a team.
TechCrunch
NOVEMBER 2, 2020
Data from a variety of sources collated by TechCrunch shows that early-stage female founders have been disproportionately hurt by the pandemic’s impact.
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 11, 2020
Venture firms wanted to meet talented Black founders but didn’t know where to start to find them. “I gotta say it was a good day.” I’m so fricking pumped today. Really, truly. Yeah, Valence announced > $5 million in funding led by GGV and Upfront. That IS a big deal, but I’ll get to that.
Venture Well
JUNE 30, 2020
Studies show that diversity is key to sparking innovation and developing holistic solutions in early-stage ventures, The post expanding equity in STEM innovation: showcasing female founders of color appeared first on VentureWell. Innovation and entrepreneurship are fundamental drivers of economic growth.
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